There's been a lot of talk lately about the current events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic being the new normal. Many people are working from home, more people are cooking at home instead of going to restaurants, families are watching more movies at home because the theaters are closed, and people who live under the same roof are doing more things together.
Why is this the new normal? Why should a pandemic have caused families and loved ones to do things together?
I view this new way of doing things as change. When my wife and I got married, that was change. We had to adapt to a new normal of married life. Then the same thing occurred when we had kids. Every life change is simply that. Change.
April 2011 was a major change when my late wife was diagnosed with leukemia.
Then, last year, on May 19th, our family had to adapt to a new normal as my late wife started going downhill health-wise. And of course my world turned completely upside-down when she passed on January 16th of 2020.
A new normal for me? Sure.
I call it change. Get used to change. Change happens.
Friday, April 24, 2020
Friday, April 17, 2020
Vincent Van Gogh, The Doctor, and the tortured artist / Happenings In The Outhouse 17-April-2020
About ten years ago, an episode of Doctor Who called "Vincent and the Doctor" aired--my youngest daughter and I watched it on DVD yesterday, as we're doing our best to social distance. Long story short, in this episode The Doctor and his companion Amy Pond go back to the time of Vincent Van Gogh, where they have an extraordinary adventure. I won't go on much more than that.
As stated in the timeline of the story, the fictional event takes place roughly a year before he commits suicide. The episode ends with The Doctor giving Vincent an unexpected gift: to go into the future, to see the impact his paintings had on the world, because everyone thought his paintings were rubbish. Honestly, this ending scene always gives me chills. Here it is. Enjoy.
This episode reminds me of what the majority of people just think about artists. That we're all tortured souls and the only way to relieve our pain is to create the art we were meant to create.
And that's true.
Well, for some artists it is. The majority just love to tell stories.
As stated in the timeline of the story, the fictional event takes place roughly a year before he commits suicide. The episode ends with The Doctor giving Vincent an unexpected gift: to go into the future, to see the impact his paintings had on the world, because everyone thought his paintings were rubbish. Honestly, this ending scene always gives me chills. Here it is. Enjoy.
This episode reminds me of what the majority of people just think about artists. That we're all tortured souls and the only way to relieve our pain is to create the art we were meant to create.
And that's true.
Well, for some artists it is. The majority just love to tell stories.
Friday, April 10, 2020
Stop trying to be clever and tell the story / Happenings In The Outhouse 10-April-2020
For those who know me, I don't trash any of the Star Wars prequels and sequels. I take them for what they're worth as pure entertainment. Obviously, the original three are my favorites--and Empire being my favorite of those three.
But as I watched the last movie this past weekend, there were a few times I shook my head and urged the story to just move along . . . move along.
This seems to be the case with all three sequel movies. Clunky dialogue that doesn't serve any purpose except some cheap thrills, endless bickering about nothing, overexplaining, and the list goes on.
Take the first Star Wars movie: A New Hope. Did it have clunky dialogue? Sure, like Han explaining to Luke that flying through hyperspace isn't like dusting crops. But it flowed. In the first thirty minutes of the final movie, there were five to ten minutes of overexplaining and bickering and weird dialogue that could've (should've) just been cut.
Back to A New Hope. Luke asked Ben/Obi Wan if he fought in the Clone Wars. He said he did. And that was it. No explaining WHAT the Clone Wars was or anything.
All of these things on the sequel movies took away a bit from the overall story, and with that I am sad. I still loved them, but they could've been better. And with that, our lesson for today. When telling a story, don't feel the need to explain every little thing. Rowling didn't do that in the first Harry Potter book. She showed us the canvas and left it for us to wonder, to use our imagination.
Do that with your story.
Tell the story.
And leave it at that.
But as I watched the last movie this past weekend, there were a few times I shook my head and urged the story to just move along . . . move along.
This seems to be the case with all three sequel movies. Clunky dialogue that doesn't serve any purpose except some cheap thrills, endless bickering about nothing, overexplaining, and the list goes on.
Take the first Star Wars movie: A New Hope. Did it have clunky dialogue? Sure, like Han explaining to Luke that flying through hyperspace isn't like dusting crops. But it flowed. In the first thirty minutes of the final movie, there were five to ten minutes of overexplaining and bickering and weird dialogue that could've (should've) just been cut.
Back to A New Hope. Luke asked Ben/Obi Wan if he fought in the Clone Wars. He said he did. And that was it. No explaining WHAT the Clone Wars was or anything.
All of these things on the sequel movies took away a bit from the overall story, and with that I am sad. I still loved them, but they could've been better. And with that, our lesson for today. When telling a story, don't feel the need to explain every little thing. Rowling didn't do that in the first Harry Potter book. She showed us the canvas and left it for us to wonder, to use our imagination.
Do that with your story.
Tell the story.
And leave it at that.
Friday, April 3, 2020
Progress on WIP / Happenings In The Outhouse 3-April-2020
Keeping this short today.
I'm making progress on the new thriller. A bit over 5,000 words into it. Most days I put in around 500 to 900 new words, so I expect the total to climb much higher rather quickly.
Take care in these unusual times. Take care of yourself. Take care of your family. Connect where you can.
Speaking of all this, I cannot imagine what my late wife Melissa would be thinking about all of this. It has been 11 weeks since she passed. And with everything going on, if she had not passed, visiting her would be near impossible.
I'm making progress on the new thriller. A bit over 5,000 words into it. Most days I put in around 500 to 900 new words, so I expect the total to climb much higher rather quickly.
Take care in these unusual times. Take care of yourself. Take care of your family. Connect where you can.
Speaking of all this, I cannot imagine what my late wife Melissa would be thinking about all of this. It has been 11 weeks since she passed. And with everything going on, if she had not passed, visiting her would be near impossible.
Thursday, April 2, 2020
Why I'm not freaking out (special coronavirus / COVID-19 special)
I read a blog post this morning by a well-known science fiction writer and felt more than compelled to write this post.
First, the author (no, I will not disclose the name nor gender, as this person is fairly smart but seems to be a bit misguided in light of current events) wrote about all of the uncertainty in the world and how the whole coronavirus is impacting the world economy. No argument there, however said author seemed to imply that the entire global market is on the verge of collapsing and we may never recover from it.
Now, I am not a fortune teller and cannot see the future, but I am not freaking out about this whole mess. True, I am nearing the close of my second week of working from home, and I am thankful for having this job. Also, the company I work for is thriving to help bring products to the various manufacturers who are building many of the world's leading edge innovations. It is also on the forefront of many manufacturers who are changing their business model to help build ventilators and other necessary medical devices to battle this pandemic. But the world economy collapsing? I find that hard to believe.
Are you familiar with the book "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth Blanchard? It's a quick read that is well worth the time. The gist of it is the world is always changing and if something disrupts it, we should figure out a way to move with it. In other words, if we're mice in a maze and our cheese has always been in one particular spot, what happens when the cheese is no longer there? We go find it in its new place.
Many of our local restaurants have changed their business model to offering curb side service or even home delivery, whereas they never offered it before. Is business through the roof? Probably not. But then again, if you offer excellent service, you never know where this economy will take you.
People talk about this being the New Normal. Heck, this all started for me on January 16th of this year (11 weeks ago, to be exact), when my wife passed away. In a way, I am thankful she is no longer in this world because many of the risk factors for COVID-19 was right in her wheelhouse: diabetes, former cancer patient, respiratory complications. Then again, I have had a whole host of New Normals across my life, even as far back as April 2011 when my wife was originally diagnosed with leukemia.
I get it. I am not arguing with the fact that the world as we know it will not be like it was. But I see that as a good thing. Now I have the ability to work from home if I need to. Also, when my writing business skyrockets and I am able to do it full-time, I have now developed the habits to make it work whereas I had a difficult time to before all this.
Also, I truly believe that this world is in God's hands. I have complete faith in God and everything He has done. Only through my Christian faith has the impact of my wife's passing been a blessing when I know she is in a far better place.
And I will see her again one day. It's hard for me to fathom a world without such hope.
Lastly, as a writer myself, what made me be more than compelled to write this is due to many of the more vocal writers bitching about not being able to write, bitching about the election and what it does to the publishing industry, and quite frankly just plain bitching in general. I am convinced the majority of writers may not be in this camp, but when the ones who are more successful seem to be the more bitchy ones, it makes me scratch my head in wonder. For me, I've been writing more and more each day.
I also think many others are too. The ones who aren't seem to be spending more time posting their bitchiness online when they could just hunker down and work.
Art is, after all, an essential business too. Where else are we going to be entertained from, except from the creation that is within our own minds?
So get out there and do it. Now!
First, the author (no, I will not disclose the name nor gender, as this person is fairly smart but seems to be a bit misguided in light of current events) wrote about all of the uncertainty in the world and how the whole coronavirus is impacting the world economy. No argument there, however said author seemed to imply that the entire global market is on the verge of collapsing and we may never recover from it.
Now, I am not a fortune teller and cannot see the future, but I am not freaking out about this whole mess. True, I am nearing the close of my second week of working from home, and I am thankful for having this job. Also, the company I work for is thriving to help bring products to the various manufacturers who are building many of the world's leading edge innovations. It is also on the forefront of many manufacturers who are changing their business model to help build ventilators and other necessary medical devices to battle this pandemic. But the world economy collapsing? I find that hard to believe.
Are you familiar with the book "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth Blanchard? It's a quick read that is well worth the time. The gist of it is the world is always changing and if something disrupts it, we should figure out a way to move with it. In other words, if we're mice in a maze and our cheese has always been in one particular spot, what happens when the cheese is no longer there? We go find it in its new place.
Many of our local restaurants have changed their business model to offering curb side service or even home delivery, whereas they never offered it before. Is business through the roof? Probably not. But then again, if you offer excellent service, you never know where this economy will take you.
People talk about this being the New Normal. Heck, this all started for me on January 16th of this year (11 weeks ago, to be exact), when my wife passed away. In a way, I am thankful she is no longer in this world because many of the risk factors for COVID-19 was right in her wheelhouse: diabetes, former cancer patient, respiratory complications. Then again, I have had a whole host of New Normals across my life, even as far back as April 2011 when my wife was originally diagnosed with leukemia.
I get it. I am not arguing with the fact that the world as we know it will not be like it was. But I see that as a good thing. Now I have the ability to work from home if I need to. Also, when my writing business skyrockets and I am able to do it full-time, I have now developed the habits to make it work whereas I had a difficult time to before all this.
Also, I truly believe that this world is in God's hands. I have complete faith in God and everything He has done. Only through my Christian faith has the impact of my wife's passing been a blessing when I know she is in a far better place.
And I will see her again one day. It's hard for me to fathom a world without such hope.
Lastly, as a writer myself, what made me be more than compelled to write this is due to many of the more vocal writers bitching about not being able to write, bitching about the election and what it does to the publishing industry, and quite frankly just plain bitching in general. I am convinced the majority of writers may not be in this camp, but when the ones who are more successful seem to be the more bitchy ones, it makes me scratch my head in wonder. For me, I've been writing more and more each day.
I also think many others are too. The ones who aren't seem to be spending more time posting their bitchiness online when they could just hunker down and work.
Art is, after all, an essential business too. Where else are we going to be entertained from, except from the creation that is within our own minds?
So get out there and do it. Now!
Friday, March 27, 2020
Strange times and writing advice / Happenings In The Outhouse 27-March-2020
Unless you've been living under a rock or in a cave, these are definitely strange times we're in. My day job has allowed me to work from home, which I am thankful for. Many companies have had to adapt to these restrictions our state and federal governments have placed on us, and even then some have had to shut their doors for the time being.
I have also seen how important having a schedule is. I'm keeping my same break/lunch schedule, which helps.
There are two videos I'd like to share with you. Especially for the indie authors. The first is by Dean Wesley Smith. This 40+ video is packed with info. Take notes.
The second one is by his wife Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Again, take notes.
If I may paraphrase one portion of her talk, she said there was some advice that 800-page fantasy books are not quite the thing anymore. She said, "But I like 800-page fantasy books." And so do I. Just because one person says it's not "in style" or "in market" doesn't mean that there isn't someone out there who will love it.
AS I've always said, take writing advice with a grain of salt. Both Dean and Kris have been writing for over four decades. Yes, four! I take their advice more seriously than someone who's been writing for four months or four years with only a handful of books. It was in Dean's talk, he said that between the two they have over 1000 stories published.
Now who's advice will I follow more? Think about it.
Friday, March 20, 2020
Social distancing before it was cool / Happenings In The Outhouse 20-March-2020
We've all heard the term by now: social distancing. If not, go on the internet and search for it.
Done? Head spinning yet, with all the COVID-19 (coronavirus) news?
Honestly, I've been practicing social distancing for quite some time. In fact, when I'm done with work, I want nothing more than to go home and stay home. Sure, I'm not a complete hermit and will do stuff, like going to church or to a benefit or even visiting with family. But I prefer to stay home the majority of the time.
I get it, if you've lived your life going to countless sporting events, whether professional or high school or college sports, this is going to be an adjustment. But for me, this doesn't change my life one bit. I'm a bit sad though that my daughters' speech competitions are on hold--and one is very good; so good that she could've been a contender to go to state.
And now it appears that I may be able to do my day job from home. I have mixed feelings toward this because I like to separate home and work.
But this may be the perfect time to practice working from home, because as a writer this is something I have always dreamed of doing.
For a list of my ebooks on Amazon, here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/Mark-S.-R.-Peterson/e/B00CLJQL5G
Stay healthy everyone! We can do this!
Done? Head spinning yet, with all the COVID-19 (coronavirus) news?
Honestly, I've been practicing social distancing for quite some time. In fact, when I'm done with work, I want nothing more than to go home and stay home. Sure, I'm not a complete hermit and will do stuff, like going to church or to a benefit or even visiting with family. But I prefer to stay home the majority of the time.
I get it, if you've lived your life going to countless sporting events, whether professional or high school or college sports, this is going to be an adjustment. But for me, this doesn't change my life one bit. I'm a bit sad though that my daughters' speech competitions are on hold--and one is very good; so good that she could've been a contender to go to state.
And now it appears that I may be able to do my day job from home. I have mixed feelings toward this because I like to separate home and work.
But this may be the perfect time to practice working from home, because as a writer this is something I have always dreamed of doing.
For a list of my ebooks on Amazon, here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/Mark-S.-R.-Peterson/e/B00CLJQL5G
Stay healthy everyone! We can do this!
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